Researched by Emily R.
2001-02

• PURPOSE 
• HYPOTHESIS 
• EXPERIMENT DESIGN 
• MATERIALS 
• PROCEDURES 
• RESULTS 
• CONCLUSION 

• RESEARCH REPORT 
• BIBLIOGRAPHY 
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

• ABOUT THE RESEARCHER 

For farmers and gardeners a higher germination rate is important. With a higher germination rate larger crops are grown. Plants are very important in human society they give us oxygen to breathe. They also feed humans and the animals that we eat. 

 Flowering plants have four main parts, the root, stem, leaves, and flower. The root, stem, and leaves are known as the vegetative parts of the plant and the flowers are reproductive. 
 The roots spread and absorb water and minerals underground for the plant to grow. Food for the plant is stored in the roots. The two types of root systems are the taproot and fibrous. Taproots have a main root or primary root that grows straight down, with smaller branches known as secondary roots. Fibrous root systems are when the primary root and secondary roots are all the same size.
 Stems support the plant and take sunlight and air in. Underground stem systems are subterranean and aboveground stems are aerial stems. Stems grow either above or below soil and hold the flowering reproductive parts.
 Leaves produce photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, chlorophyll absorbs light energy from the sun, through the plants leaves. This light energy combines with water, minerals, and carbon dioxide to produce sugars, other simple compounds, and chemical energy.
 The reproductive parts of the plant are found in the flower. Every flower contains a stamen; a male reproductive organ and a pistil; a female’s reproductive organ. Every stamen has an enlarged tip called an anther. The ovary forms the base of the pistil and contains the ovules. In flowering plants one spore in the ovule produces an egg cell. Two sperm cells are produced in every anther’s spores; pollen grains. For fertilization to begin a pollen grain must be transferred to the pistil of another flower of the same plant. Pollination is the name of this transfer. When the pollen grain of a flower pollinates the pistil on the same plant this is called self-pollination. If the pollen makes it to another plant’s pistil it is called cross-pollination. 

Germination is the process of a seed developing into a plant. Germination begins as the seed absorbs water and swells which causes it to split. When the seed coat splits in the soil the embryo starts to root and grow the plant. An embryo has all the parts needed to make a plant. 

For seeds to grow they need warmth, moisture, and oxygen. Correct temperature is important. If it is too hot or cold the seed will not germinate. Moisture softens the seed coat and allows the seed to grow.  Oxygen is taken from the soil, moisture, and air. 
When the seed is germinating the structure first appears, the lower part is the hypocotyls; it develops the main root. The upper part the epicotyl grows upward and develops the stem and bud. As the embryo breaks out of the seed coat and grows downward the radicle pushes through the soil the cotyledons move apart. The upper stem rises above the ground. The stem then carries the cotyledons and bud above the ground. True leaves now develop from the bud. The cotyledons fall off as the embryo uses all their food. 

 A seed is a ripened ovule of a seed plant before germination. During fertilization the pollen enters the ovule through the micropyle. In flowering plants there is a hard, outer seed coat and a second thin seed coat called the tegmen. Near the micropyle is a stalk, which attaches to the placenta of the seed wall. When the seed is removed a tiny scar, the hilum, that shows the former attachment. 

All plants are divided into two group’s gymnosperms or angiosperms. Gymnosperms are not enclosed in an ovary and angiosperms are enclosed in an ovary and ripen as a pod or fruit. Seeds are also divided by whether they have one or two cotyledons. Monocotyledons have one cotyledon and dicotyledon have two. 

An embryo looks like a miniature plant. Each one contains a stem, one or two cotyledons, and a plumule. The stem is attached to the cotyledons. The plumule, which produces leaves, is located at the top of the stem. 
Cotyledons are part of the embryo, they are the first leaves formed in the seed. These leaves digest and store food for the forming plant as the seed sprouts. A stem and root then develop and carry the cotyledons above the ground. As the embryo continues to grow the seed uses all its stored food for seedling growth. Cotyledons of the bean cling to the stem and develop chlorophyll and photosynthesis for the new plant. As the plant grows its new leaves from the stem the cotyledons fall off. 

Photosynthesis is a food making process, which occurs, in green plants. These plants combine light energy and carbon dioxide to make food. A pigment called chlorophyll absorbs the light used in photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is contained in cell bodies called chloroplasts. In chloroplasts light causes carbon dioxide with hydrogen atoms of water to form sugar. During photosynthesis oxygen is released. In photosynthetic bacteria, carbon dioxide reacts with compounds, to form sugar. The chemical formula for photosynthesis is 6CO2 + 6H20 = C6H12O6 + 6O2.

Chlorophyll is the green coloring matter found in plants. Plant cells only produce chlorophyll when exposed to a light.  Living plant cells change light energy into chemical energy. These cells also take carbon dioxide from the air and it is changed to sugars or other simple organic compounds. 

 The bean is classified as an angiosperm and a dicotyledon. Seed coats of the bean have two structures, the hilum and the micropyle. The hilum is a tiny scar where the seed was attached to the seed stalk. The micropyle is a small hole where fertilized pollen tube entered the seed. 

Beans, as vegetables are important for our diet because of their vitamins and minerals. They are especially rich in Vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, and Vitamin C. Important minerals found in beans are calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Peas and beans contain proteins important to our diets unlike other vegetables, it provides energy and 12-15% of the diet’s calories. In the basic seven foods group’s beans are a good source of protein and carbohydrates. 

 Soil is an important natural resource which life depends. Plants take their nutrients from soil and animals eat these plants and get sufficient nutrients.

The four important characteristics of soil are: color, texture, structure, and chemical conditions. 
The color of the soil is important because it allows pedologists, soil scientists, to estimate the amount of air, water, organic matter and certain elements that are in the soil. 
Texture depends on the mineral particles and determines how well water drains through a soil. Sandy soils have the largest particles and clays are microscopic. 
When soils form clumps of soil called peds, they determine the soils structure. Consistence is when soil particles and peds stick together and keep their shape. There are three main soil structures: platelike, prismlike, and blocklike. Platelike peds are thin, horizontal plates. Prismlike peds are subsoil structures in the shape of columns. Blocklike peds look like blocks with flat or curved sides. Smaller, rounded, blocks occur in topsoil and large, flat sided, blocks occur in subsoil. Smaller peds hold water and nutrients better than larger peds do.
Soils can be acid, alkaline, or neutral. The biological and chemical processes depend on the amount of acid and alkali in soil. Plants are harmed with high acid and alkali soils. Neutral soils support biological and chemical processes. 

Pedologists classify soils according to their characteristics.  The Soil Survey Staff of the United States Department of Agriculture use a system of ten groups. They are alfisols, aridisols, entisols, histosols, inceptisols, mollisols, oxisols, spodosols, ultisols, and vertisols. 
Alfisols are developed in humid climates under grasslands and forests. Some agricultural soils are alfisols. 
Aridisols contain small amounts of organic matter and occur in dry regions such as desert soil.
Entisols occur in many climates and show little development.
Histosols are organic soil that forms in water-saturated environments such as swamps and bogs.
Inceptisols are common subhumid and humid climates and are only slightly developed. 
Mollisols have thick and organically rich topsoil, which develop in prairie regions.
Oxisols have reddish color and occur in tropical regions. They are the most chemically weathered soils. 
Spodosols form in warmer, humid climates and contain iron, aluminum, and organic matter.
Ultisols are moist, well-developed, acidic soils, which occur, in humid climates.
Vertisols develop deep, wide cracks during dry, humid seasons.
 

Armstrong, Joseph E. "Cotyledon." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Page 1095.

Byrne, John M. "Seed." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 281-283.

Dwyer, Johanna T. "Nutrition." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 624-627, 630.

Gantt, Elisabeth. "Chlorophyll." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 517-518.

Johnston, Taylor J. "Soil." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 573-576.

Keating, Richard C. "Germination." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Page 173.

"Plant." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 519, 529-534, 536, 538.

"Seed." Encarta Encyclopedia December 6, 2001 http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?z=1&pg=2&ti=761557802#s5Splittstoesser, W. E. 

Wagner, David H. "Photosynthesis." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Page 430.

Whitter, S. H. "Bean." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 180-182.

"Vegetable." The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998. Pages 316-318. 

"Vegetable." Encarta Encyclopedia December 6, 2001
http://encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?ti=761556865&sid=17#5